


Emotions

by ElizaXSpears



Series: Our Forever Together [4]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Drama, M/M, Post-Break Up, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 17:33:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12151476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizaXSpears/pseuds/ElizaXSpears
Summary: “Excuse me?” he asked cautiously. The body stiffened, then quickly darted to wipe at their face and with the arms gone, William could make out a mop of blonde hair. Immediately his brows drew together in worry. “Knox?”





	Emotions

The clicking of his office door closing behind him nearly echoed in the empty halls of the building, only specific lights left on, partially the ones over the stairs and at the end of each hall, not like reapers needed light, their night vision 100% improved from their human counterparts. If anything, to William, the lights just served to make the building look that much more empty.

As per normal, he was the only one left due to his scheduled overtime. Despite his hate for the word, there was something nice to be surrounded by quiet unlike the bustling of the work day. Watching the sky go from gorgeous blue, to a lovely red and pink hue then to black was therapeutic. With his office on the top floor of the building, his desk situated in front of the large window, it gave him the perfect view to take just that amount of time to relax. His favourite part was watching the little lights pop up in the black, watching the moon rise paired with the trillion of city lights under the horizon. It was beautiful.

His shoes clacked against the linoleum floor, like the door click, echoing in the silence. Already, he was planning out his day for the morrow, running down his list. Tomorrow he couldn’t afford over time, needing the extra time to restock his empty cupboards, something he did often considering the little food he kept in his house. Humphries expressed concern numerous times about his lack of diet but it mostly fell on deaf ears. He’d occasionally snag an apple from the break room to please the brunette, even just that little bit.

When he reached the ground floor, he swung on the suit jacket he had draped over his arm. He was eager to finally leave, only to slow just when he was at the front doors when he heard a sound. It was faint, no doubt only heard due to his slight reaper enhanced hearing. Weeping. It was muffled, a few breaths here and there trying to halt the soft sobs.

His fingers twitched on the metal door handle, his freedom just a step forward, but something, perhaps his conscience that everyone was convinced didn’t exist, nagged at him. Inwardly sighing, he dropped his hand, turning on his heels to follow the sound. Evidently, he didn’t need to go very far. In his rush to escape the place, he completely bypassed one of his employees sitting against the wall near the bottom of the staircase, the light barely casting upon them. Their knees were drawn to their chest, their arms covering their head, faced pressed into his arms. “Excuse me?” he asked cautiously. The body stiffened, then quickly darted to wipe at their face and with the arms gone, William could make out a mop of blonde hair. Immediately his brows drew together in worry. “Knox?”

The blonde took a deep, if not shaking, breath, gathering himself to lift his head to meet the eyes of his superior. “Um, hey, sir.”

Even with little light, William could see the slight redness to the blonde's eyes, the light catching on the wetness on his cheeks. “Ronald, are you alright?” he knew it was a silly question, but best to ask in case Ronald wasn’t willing to talk.

There was a silence for a bit, Ronald removing his glasses to absently twirl the frames in fidgeting hands. “…not really…”

William knew this was not where his expertise lied. He had not been built for this sort of thing. This is where Slingby would come in. Despite his rough appearance, he’d been told, and seen, how much of a big teddybear the man could be. Right now, Ronald needed Eric and not him. Still, he was the only one around. “But it’s not your problem,” Ronald began again when William didn’t reply, “don’t let me stop y’ from enjoyin’ your night.”

The out of place shakiness in the blonde’s voice made up William’s mind for him. He didn’t dare look back in case he gave the blonde the wrong impression as he made the rest of the way to Ronald. He turned his back to the wall, pressing against it and letting himself slid down to rest at its base, sitting a respectable distance away from Ronald. “You shouldn't be worried about my night when you’re the one crying.”

“I-I’m not cryin’!” he tried to protest, wiping his eyes again. “Just—”

“You dare say ‘something in my eye’, I’m going to smack you.”

“Honestly, I’d take a hit from you right now. I can handle physical pain a lot better than…this.”

William turned his head, tilting it a little out of interest. “Emotional pain then?”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t know anythin’ about that.”

A snide remark wasn’t what William was expecting but it was properly warranted. This was both a jab at his less than comforting approach as well as Ronald’s defences to keep William out. “No, I wouldn’t.” he replied, turning his eyes to the floor. “I’ve never seen the point in getting ‘emotional’.” he let his head ‘thunk’ against the wall. “All it seems to do is cause pain.”

“Y’ got that right.”

William cocked an eyebrow. “You agree? I’m surprised. Knox is usually always so cherry.”

“Yeah, well, Knox is also really stupid.” William waited to see if Ronald would continue his thought. He did, but not in the way he was expecting. He sat up, crossing his legs and asked, “would you ever think you were in love with someone after, like, two dates?”

“No.” he didn’t even think. “No, of course not. Love at first sight, even, is a petty thing. It’s just their appearance you’re attracted to. Most people when they find out what that person is like end up—”

“Heartbroken?”

William leant forward, resting his arms on his bent up knees. “Is that it, hm?”

Ronald flinched, keeping his eyes downturned. “…yeah…” he swallowed, eyes gathering moisture. “Yeah. Yeah, okay? I fucked up. I…I fucked up really bad. I…I fell in love at first sight then she fucked me over.” he threw down his glasses, William flinching hearing them hit the floor. “I loved her, sir, I really did. A lot.” he swallowed the forming lump in his throat. “W-We were goin’ out for the better part of a year and…and she told she loved me. Said I was the best guy she ever had.” the heels of his ungloved hands pressed into his eyes, “I was head over heels for her.” one hand dropped to fish into his pocket, removing a scrap of paper. “Then she dumped me over note.”

William easily slipped the scrap from Ronald’s fingers, reading over the few words: _Sorry luv, but it’s not working anymore._ The older reaper frowned, scrunching up the paper and pocketing it. “Knox, I—”

“And when I went to talk to her about it, she was already with someone else!” he threw down his arms, fists hitting the floor. “Gah! Why do I even care?! Why can’t I be like you and just not?!”

“You loved her.”

Somehow, that did it. The damn broke again and Ronald returned to how William found him, crying into his knees, this time harder then he was originally. It was almost robotic for William, scooting closer. His arms snaked around the younger reaper, gently coaxing him into an embrace the blonde suddenly returned. His arms were thrown around William’s waist, his face pressed into William’s chest, trying to draw himself as close as possible. William allowed his fingers to cascade through Ronald’s blonde locks, his other hand soothing over his back.

Time escaped him as they sat there, William trying his best to soothe the boy until his sobbing eventually turned to heavy breathing then eventually evening out. The blonde slowly released William, using the back of his hand against his cheeks to dry the wet streaks there. “Sorry…” he mumbled, turning his head away.

William frowned, his arms still around Ronald. Withdrawing one, he cupped Ronald’s cheek, wiping away a stray tear Knox missed. “Do not apologize for crying.”

“But you said—”

“Emotions are meant for you, not me.” then something foreign in him took over long enough for him to crack a hint of a smile and say, “we robots were not created with them in mind.”

Ronald stared at him before his lips quivered, swiftly breaking into a full out smile followed by a quick bout of hard laughter. “Sod off, bastard.” he wheezed, playfully shoving William’s shoulder.

William couldn’t help the smile spreading, glad to see the normal Knox smile. “Well, it had the desired effect.” he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing Ronald’s glasses on his way up. He turned to the blonde, holding out his hand. “Why don’t you come with me and join me for some evening tea?”

Ronald eyed William’s hand before taking it, letting himself be hoisted up. “Y’know, tea sounds really good right now,” he agreed, accepting back his glasses, “thanks sir.”

“We’re off the clock now, Ronald. You may call me William or… _Will_ if you so please.”

Ronald smiled, with his glasses back on his nose, nudging his arm. “Sure thing, _Will_.”

The elder reaper adjusted his glasses. “I’m going to regret giving you that permission, aren’t I?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

He rolled his eyes, leading the way forward, being sure to toss away that scrap of paper in the bin he passed, before pushing open the right glass door. “Shall we?”

Ronald quickly caught up with him, exiting the building with William right behind him. Somehow, William wasn’t sure, Ronald ended up holding his hand and he, somehow, ended up holding it in return. When they ended up on his couch, with Ronald laying into him, a foreign feeling spread through William’s chest. As he wrapped his arms around Ronald, feeling the younger reaper snuggle closer to him, the fuzziness only grew along with the foreign smile on his lips brought on by Ronald’s own soft one. 

 

Robots were not created with emotions.  

He must have been malfunctioning.

**Author's Note:**

> Just something quick I needed to get out of my head.


End file.
